Throughout my career and with IMAGINE coming up, I realised that I've always been working on the edge of finance, investing and sustainability. First at Rabobank, the biggest food and agricultural bank in the world, and now at Ahlstrom Invest, a sustainability driven investment vehicle of the Ahlstrom family. With this bio I want to take the opportunity to share recent success and challenges I face in daily work. End 2025 the sustainable innovation platform between the family capital and Ahlstrom Oyj, the industrial family company, was launched. This initiative aims to bring the family capital and our industrial capabilities together to support promising scale ups that raise capital for industrial expansion. The opportunity is big: The number of companies with potential is high and the needed capital significant. The challenges are also big: There is no lack of talking how we can make the world more sustainable. It's about how we will let this materialise. How can we make winners of these sustainable companies? My experience is that even if the costs come rather close to less sustainable alternatives, it's still very difficult to change the mind of decision makers. The unsustainable choice is easily made. A clear problem that I also encounter in my work as board member in one of the most sustainable ways of raising fish for consumption, a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) company.
Often the solution for certain big problems is already invented but not yet adopted. This is the main reason why I'm so excited about joining the IMAGINE week in September, I hope it gives me the opportunity to join a community that goes beyond talking and is coming together for concrete action.
Breaking down the complexity of sustainability and make it more practical. We are in need for a 'village' where like-minded people can share ideas and create a flywheel behind their actions. For me this is personal if I look at my family, being a 42 year old father of two beautiful kids, I want to contribute my fair share to leave a world behind which is in a good shape. Large words which could become reality if 'our village' successfully works together. Last but not least, I love running, so I will bring my running shoes, and I invite you to join me in morning runs around Oxford.